1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite switch used in an electronic equipment such as multifunction electronic timepiece.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The electronic timepiece is made the multifunction, and an input work by a switch becomes frequent as well. For example, if it is attempted to input a letter row, the letter row is scrolled by a switch operation from among many letter information such as 50 Japanese syllabary characters of hiragana, 26 letters of alphabet and numerals, thereby deciding one letter desired. In order to perform this by a push-switch, the operation becomes intricate. A rotary switch adopted whereupon in order to solve the above point is obliged from its structure to make an external shape of the electronic timepiece into a circular shape, and thus has a problem that a degree of freedom in design is limited.
In a field other than the electronic timepiece, there is a jog switch made into an input operation structure corresponding to the letter scroll, and a merit in its operability is widely recognized. However, in a product in which this has been mounted, a waterproofness is not taken into consideration. For this reason, the conventional jog switch cannot be adopted in the electronic timepiece.
As the composite switch for the electronic timepiece having the waterproofness, there is one disclosed in JP-A-2001-215288 Gazette (Patent Document 1). This conventional composite switch is a dome type composite switch having a high waterproofness, which comprises plural fixed contacts, movable contacts each of which is supported by an elastic body under a state capable of contacting with or separating from each of the fixed contacts, and plural movable axles each of which has a pressing end part and an operating end part and can axially reciprocate so as to press each of the movable contacts to thereby perform the contact with or the separation from each of the fixed contacts, wherein the operating end part of each of the plural movable axles is retained by being monolithically covered with a soft member such as silicone rubber. However, in a case where this dome type composite switch is adopted in the multifunction timepiece and the letter scroll is performed, since it must be continued to be pressed by a finger from start to end of the scroll, a problem remains in its operability.
<Patent Document 1> JP-A-2001-215288 Gazette
A problem that the present invention is to solve is to provide a jog switch type composite switch used in the electronic equipment such as multifunction electronic timepiece, which has the waterproofness and in which the letter scroll is easy.